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Parent Support Groups for those with children/young people with special educational needs and disabilities 

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Parent Support Groups for those with children/young people with special educational needs and disabilities 

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Are you a parent/carer of a child or young person with special educational needs and disabilities?

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Are you a parent/carer of a child or young person with special educational needs and disabilities?

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Take a look at some of the workshops that Reaching Families are offering!

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0300 and 0800 Sussex Mental Healthline numbers to be switched off 

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0300 and 0800 Sussex Mental Healthline numbers to be switched off 

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Since 2022, NHS 111 'select the mental health option' has been available in Sussex, offering a 24/7 telephone service to people who are experiencing a mental health crisis.

At present, this service can also be reached by calling legacy 0800 and 0300 Sussex Mental Healthline numbers. However, from July 2026, this service will only be accessible by calling NHS 111 and selecting the mental health option.

There is a misconception that NHS 111 'select the mental health option' and the Sussex Mental Healthline are two different services. By having a single number - and name - this will make it easier for people to know how to get help for their mental health.

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Health and wellbeing apps can be a great way to help you feel better and many are free to use.

But with so many apps available, and many not meeting quality standards, it’s important to choose ones that are safe, effective, and accessible.

That’s why trusts across Sussex have partnered with ORCHA to create a trusted app library. Each app in the library has been independently reviewed for safety, quality, and accessibility, so you can feel confident in your choice. Every listing includes a clear description of what the app does and how it can support your health.

Not every app will suit everyone — and that’s okay. There are plenty of alternatives, and you can try different ones to find what works best for you. If you’re unsure, a healthcare professional can help guide you.

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Health and wellbeing apps can be a great way to help you feel better and many are free to use.

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A guide for Parent Carers of Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

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A guide for Parent Carers of Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

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Self regulation for Busy parents and professionals

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Self regulation for Busy parents and professionals

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Self Regulation for Busy Parents & Professionals

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Screen time and resilience: A psychologist’s guide

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Screen time and resilience: A psychologist’s guide

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A psychologist’s tips for raising digitally resilient teens - BBC Bitesize

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As part of the BBC Bitesize Solve the Story campaign, clinical psychologist Dr Martha Deiros Collado gives parents advice on ensuring their teenager understands the complexity of the digital world they may live in and the risks and uncertainties of life online.

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Talking to your children about distressing news

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Talking to your children about distressing news

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Sometimes children and teenagers can feel overwhelmed and worried by stories they hear or read about in the news or on social media.

As a parent or carer, you can help to reassure your child, but it can be difficult to find the right words or know how to approach the situation. Lois Wignall, Assistant Director - Mental Health and Trauma Services, gives her advice on how to approach talking to your children about distressing news.

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How to talk to your children about distressing news

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Sometimes children and teenagers can feel overwhelmed and worried by stories they hear or read about in the news or on social media. Lois Wignall, Assistant Director - Mental Health and Trauma Services, gives her advice on how to approach talking to your children about distressing news.

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Free Training for Families and Informal Carers!

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Free Training for Families and Informal Carers!

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Training is available, free for families and informal carers.

Training sessions run from Mar- Dec and include the Mental Capacity Act, Mental Health Act, Care Act and Deprivation of Liberty.

For more information, or help with booking:

Email: events@edgetraining.org.uk

Telephone: 07341 277487

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Free Training for Families and Informal | Edge Training

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Note: Please note these courses have not been designed for health/social care staff. Places are limited and free places are only being offered to families or informal carers that are non health/social care professionals. If you are (also) a health or social care professional- please speak to your employer to request training or view our range of courses designed for professionals.

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How Are You Really Feeling? This campaign has been developed by the Mental Health Services Communications Working Group, a collaboration of NHS, local authority, voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations and people with lived experience. Their aim is to achieve a consistent approach to communicating about mental health and wellbeing in Sussex to help people find and access timely support.

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Find out how to get help and support with your mental health and wellbeing in Sussex.

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The difference that being female makes to the diagnosis, life and experiences of an autistic person is hugely significant. With up-to-date content on masking, diagnosis later in life, and a new focus on trans and non-binary voices, as well as a deeper dive into health and wellbeing, this is an invaluable companion for professionals, as well as a guiding light for women with autism to understand and interpret their own experience in context.

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Women and Girls on the Autism Spectrum, Second Edition

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The difference that being female makes to the diagnosis, life and experiences of an autistic person is hugely significant. In this widely expanded second edition, Sarah Hendrickx combines the latest research with personal stories from girls and women on the autism spectrum to present a picture of their feelings, though

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Your involvement in the NHS 10 Year Plan

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Your involvement in the NHS 10 Year Plan

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The Government's 10 Year Health Plan for England has been launched, setting out a new course for the NHS.

It sets out the 'three shifts' – from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from treatment to prevention.

It also describes plans to make the NHS the very best place to work and, to support the launch, the NHS Chief Executive has written an open letter to all NHS staff.

The plan has been shaped by you, members of the public, patients, partners and the health and care workforce across the country.

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Dear colleague

Fit for the Future: 10 Year Health Plan for England

Today we are setting out a bold, ambitious and necessary new course for the NHS, with 'Fit for the Future', our 10 Year Health Plan for England.

Throughout our discussions over the last few months, we have heard time and time again from you about the importance of reviving real ambition for our NHS, making sure it will be there for generations to come.

We know from our many conversations with you as NHS staff, along with our wider health and social care workforce, that you are up for the challenge. You are the people driving innovation on the frontline and your fingerprints are all over some of the best ideas in the 10 Year Health Plan.

For too long, too many of you have suffered the frustration of turning up, working incredibly hard, only to leave at the end of the day feeling exhausted and demoralised by the conditions that patients are being treated in because of circumstances beyond your control.

This is a pivotal moment for our health service, and we need the whole team to be on board. In order to move forward, we will need to work together with decisiveness, energy and focus.

We can only do that by getting the foundations right. That means pushing forward with our current reset, prioritising financial discipline, delivering our commitments and keeping a relentless focus on preparing for winter this year. For our part, as we move into medium term planning, we will work quickly to align the centre and regions, so they work to support you better. Simplifying rules and accountability remain absolute priorities for the months ahead.

We know that many of you feel overwhelmed by bureaucracy and exasperated when you can't deliver the quality of care our patients need and deserve. We also know there is more work we need to do to support every member of our staff to fulfill their potential.

There is a whole generation of NHS staff who we know have never had the chance to work in the NHS when it's been working at its best. They have not had the experience of working in a system that delivers the highest possible care for patients, that meets its targets and has the space and time to innovate further. That is why a clear aim of this plan is to make the NHS the very best place to work - setting new standards for flexible, modern NHS employment, expanding training opportunities and reducing the burden of admin.

This is now our opportunity to deliver the care that patients deserve, and build a workplace where staff can thrive. It falls to our generation to rebuild our National Health Service to protect the provision of high-quality healthcare, not according to wealth, but according to need.

Through our three shifts - from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from treatment to prevention - we will personalise care, give more power to patients, and ensure that the best of the NHS is available to all.

We have asked NHS leaders across the country to work closely with you over the summer to align all of these priorities and agree our collective delivery approach for Fit for the Future - focusing on those elements of the plan that will have the most immediate impact on our staff and patients, whilst looking ahead at the more medium and long-term changes we need to make.

The reason we know we can deliver the change set out in this 10 Year Health Plan is because it is built on the success of those who are already showing us what the future looks like. We have toured the length and breadth of the country and scouted the world for the best examples of innovation and reform, and we are going to seed them across the NHS together.

Delivering this plan will not be easy, but neither was the creation of the National Health Service.

Thank you for everything you do, each and every day, on behalf of our patients. You are the people who make the NHS so special and, through your commitment, compassion and creativity, we will take this plan and create an NHS that is truly fit for the future.

Yours sincerely

Sir James Mackey, Chief Executive Officer, NHS England

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NHS England " Fit for the Future: 10 Year Health Plan for England - open letter to staff

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Dear colleague Fit for the Future: 10 Year Health Plan for England Today we are setting out a bold, ambitious and necessary new course for the NHS, with 'Fit for the Future', our 10 Year Health Plan for England. Throughout our discussions over the last few months, we have heard time and time again from [...]

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The fear of threat, or anxiety, is like a strong gust of wind. It drags you in and makes you want to fight it or run away.

Instead, face your fear with the Clear Fear app and learn to reduce the physical responses to threat as well as changing thoughts and behaviours and releasing emotions.

Anxiety is a natural response to fear, threat and apprehension. However, when anxiety is extreme or goes on for a long time, or the response to a threat is disproportionately large and affects a person negatively, it may become an anxiety disorder.

Anxiety disorders are the most common form of emotional disorder and respond very well to a form of treatment called Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or CBT.
When you face your fear, you will reduce the threat and glide.

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Clear Fear is the latest app from award-winning teenage mental health charity stem4.

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Using her experiences of caring for a child going through the mental healthcare system, parent Jo shares support, advice and hope for other parents.

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How to Create a Sensory Diet for your Child

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How to Create a Sensory Diet for your Child

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Create a sensory diet for your neurodivergent child

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Integrative Counsellor and Sensory Intelligence Practitioner Jolene Ironside explains how to create a ‘sensory diet’ for a neurodivergent young person.

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I always used to think of Christmas as a fairly simple time of year. Although it comes with its own pressures, like buying presents, cooking dinner, and trying to tie up loose ends at work before the holidays, I would basically look forward to putting up the tree, eating too much, and having a bit of time off. When our son was younger Christmas was even more special for me and I always tried to give him the most magical time that I could.

As he got older, this got much more difficult. My son has an anxiety disorder, which comes with a different set of challenges. He finds it difficult to deal with changes in routine and is easily overstimulated - which as you can imagine is easily triggered during December.

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Parent Michael explores the anxieties that come up over the festive period, and how he and his son worked through them.

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We set up a café that would provide personalised work training programmes in an environment that provided day to day social interaction and business opportunities. And cake.

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Mind offer a wide range of free and low-cost training to develop your knowledge and confidence to help you support your young person with their mental health.

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West Sussex Mind | Parents and carers supporting young people

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We have a wide range of free training to develop your knowledge and confidence to support a young person with their mental health

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A collection of pre-recorded webinars on subjects including autism, eating disorders, anxiety, sleep and managing self harm

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Interested in getting involved? We'd love to hear from you!

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Interested in getting involved? We'd love to hear from you!

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Melissa Innovation through Involvement Lead

Rivkah East Sussex

Larissa West Sussex

@our_mh_space

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Information, training and support for parent carers.

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West Sussex Parent Carer Forum | Information | Training

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West Sussex Parent Carer Forum is a charity for the parent carers of children & young people aged 0-25 with special educational needs / disabilities (SEND).

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Forum for parent carers of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in East Sussex.

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Placing the views of all parent carers at the heart of decision making. We are the new forum for parent carers of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in East Sussex. Become a Member About Us We work together to ensure every parent carer in East Sussex feels that their ... Read more

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A site created for young people, carers and professionals to pool together lots of resources from across the internet that are available to help support mental health and well-being.

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Is this your domain?Connect it to your Wix website in just a few easy steps:

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Calm Harm is an award-winning app funded by teenage mental health charity stem4, to help manage the urge to self-harm. It was developed by Clinical Psychologist Dr. Nihara Krause MBE, in collaboration with young people and uses principles from an evidence-based psychological treatment called Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT).

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Calm Harm is an award-winning app funded by teenage mental health charity stem4, to help manage the urge to self-harm. It was developed by Clinical Psychologist Dr. Nihara Krause MBE, in collaboration with young people and uses principles from an evidence-based psychological treatment called Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT).

The urge to self-harm is like a wave. It feels the most powerful when you start wanting to do it.

Learn to ride the wave with the Calm Harm app by choosing activities from these categories:
, , Express Yourself , , and .

There is also a breathing exercise to help you be mindful and stay in the moment, regulate difficult emotions, and reduce tension.

When you ride the wave, the urge to self-harm will fade.

The Calm Harm app provides some immediate activities and techniques to help you break the cycle of self-harm behaviour and explore underlying trigger factors; the app supports you in building a 'safety net' of helpful thoughts, behaviours, and access to supportive people, as well as providing the opportunity to journal and self-reflect. The Calm Harm app also signposts to help.

The app is private, anonymous, and safe.

Please note that the Calm Harm app is not a substitute for the assessment and individualised treatment by a health or mental health professional.

Our app is for young people over the age of 13.

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Calm Harm is a free app to help teenagers manage the urge to self-harm. Available on Google Play & App Store.

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Opportunities for involvement are posted here. If an activity is of interest, contact details are included in the post or you are always welcome to get in touch with us through our email at Participation Team

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Participation is involving people in decisions that affect them. NHS England describes 2 types of Participation:

Individual participation: people’s involvement in decisions about their own health

Public participation: people’s involvement in the design and delivery of the health services they use

Involving people and communities is a legal requirement (Health and Care Act 2022), with many local and national policies and guidance, promoting and requiring Participation, including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (Article 12).

For more information, please see: NHS England » Working in partnership with people and communities: Statutory guidance

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It can be really challenging to discuss medication choices with young people as the terms are so complex and the issues numerous. Having visuals can really support young people to understand what you as a clinician are thinking. By including cards such as 'I would like to think about it' young people can be supported to let you know what they are really thinking. We are waiting for a digital version of these cards that you can move around on screen. For now there are hard copy packs in plastic pockets and this PDF. When working with hard copies you can encourage the young person to take a photo of the card they have chosen or you could print it off for them.

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We really value you time and expertise and where possible, recognise this by way of payment for time (at an hourly rate) and/or expenses.

We will always let you know if opportunities are paid or unpaid, and whether you would like to receive payment is always at your discretion; we understand payment can impact benefits, so some people choose to volunteer their time and expertise instead.

If you have any concerns or would like to find out more, you are always welcome to contact a member of the team:

Melissa

Larissa

Rivkah

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This Padlet is designed for you and offers information, updates and resources parents and carers have found helpful, as well as information about ways you can get involved with CAMHS Participation.

If you have any suggestions or would like to find out more, please get in touch with Melissa, Rivkah or Larissa - we genuinely love to hear from you.

Innovation - Melissa

East Sussex - Rivkah

West Sussex - Larissa

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1. What is Participation?

2. Updates

3. Opportunities for Involvement

4. Reward and Recognition

5. Discover: Resources

6. Discover: Apps

7. Discover: Local Services and Support

8. Contact us

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The benefits of involving and working in partnership with people and communities include:

Improved health outcomes

Better decisions about service changes and how money is spent

Improved safety

Improved experience

Improved performance

Reduction in health inequalities